Follower glands are employed at joints between bell and spigot type components as typically exemplified in expired U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,365,530 to Moore, and 1,951,034 to Norton, and retainer glands having means to grip the pipe around which it is fitted are used rather than follower glands in applications where the pipe must be restrained against surges and thrusts such as may occur where the run of pipe turns a corner. Such a retainer gland is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,872 to Crawford et al. In the prior art, pipe joint glands of this type have assumed a variety of forms in order to increase their effectiveness in sealing a pipe joint and allow a certain degree of deflection of the pipeline from a true axis at the joints without causing leakage. Such glands are typically manufactured of cast iron and achieve strength primarily by virtue of their mass.